One thing about lead bullets: They can be driven to higher velocity, at the same pressure, than their jacketed counterparts.
The bugaboo is friction generated by the copper jacket.
Don't believe me? Tap a lead bullet down your pistol's bore sometime. Now, try tapping a copper jacketed bullet down the bore. If you get it started, you'll likely need a gunsmith to tap it back out -- so no, I don't recommend you do it but I say it to make a point.
A hard-cast 160 gr. bullet can get an honest 1,400 to 1,500 fps in a heavy-frame .357 Magnum. A jacketed bullet of the same weight strains to reach 1,400 before pressures rise to the intolerable.
Jacketed bullets are also much harder on the bore. Lead bullets do not promote wear and tear nearly as much as jacketed bullets.
I'm old school too. My S&W 637 .38 snubnose is loaded with hard-cast 158 gr. SWCs. They're accurate, hit with a decided thunk, penetrate well and don't depend on expansion to cut a good-sized hole.